WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:08.320 So earlier in the service, we had an opportunity of hearing a very special song, Feed the Birds. 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:15.599 And I'm gonna tell you a little bit about why this song is so special here in a minute. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:22.399 But I first must confess that I had nothing to do with the choosing of that song. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.440 So let me state that from the beginning. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:36.000 But let me say when I heard that that song was going to be performed today, my heart jumped like a giddy little school kid. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:49.039 So I realized that this was finally my chance, my first chance, to offer a true Disney Fide sermon. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:01:04.719 Now, for those that don't know, um, one of my previous careers, I was a chef, and one of my dream jobs, which I did get the opportunity to have, was working at Disney. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:07.120 I was a chef at Epcot's catering department. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.120 It was one of the best jobs ever. 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:17.200 So now this isn't, uh my sermon today isn't just Disney for Disney's sake. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.560 But this is Disney as theology. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:29.040 Because every once in a while story opens our hearts. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:36.959 It opens our hearts to hear scripture in ways that we have never heard it before. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.719 So this song, Feed the Birds, was written by the Sherman Brothers. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:51.760 Very famous, were known for writing many of the wonderful, wonderful Disney songs that we all knew. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:02:01.280 They were brothers and songwriting companions for a very long time, and especially with the Disney Company. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.799 And they did all the music for Mary Poppins. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:16.560 Now they didn't just write songs, they wrote stories people still carry in their hearts today. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:30.159 So what made this song so special is that Walt Disney himself had this ritual, this tradition that he would do every single Friday afternoon. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:39.120 What he would do is he would, as he was finishing up the day, he would speak to his secretary Tommy and say, get the boys. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:42.159 And she knew exactly what that meant. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:48.080 That meant she was to go get the Sherman brothers and bring them to his office. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:57.120 Richard and Robert would come to Walt's office and they would sit down at the piano as Walt would say, play it. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:01.120 And again, they knew exactly what that meant. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.800 That meant that he wanted them to play Feed the Birds. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:17.120 Not a spoonful of sugar, not super califragilistic expialidocious, not let's go fly a kite, but feed the birds. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:23.759 Richard Sherman later said that Walt believed it was the heart of Mary Poppins. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:37.759 Earlier this year I had the opportunity, thanks to an Alzheimer's conference that was in Anaheim, got the opportunity to not only go to Walt Disney World, but spend some time at Walt Disney Studios. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:43.759 And the kind of mecca of that visit was that I got to go into Walt's office. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:58.319 And as I stood there in Walt's office, saw his desk, looked out the same windows that he did, saw the piano that they played when Walt said, play it. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:04.719 Standing there, all I could think was, this is where it happened. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:10.000 This is where innovation and imagineering was born. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:15.680 I could almost hear Walt say to his secretary Tommy, go get the boys. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:21.279 And the Sherman brothers would walk into his office. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.199 And as they walked in, he would say to them, play it. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:30.240 And they would sit down at the piano. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:45.199 And it would start the song of Feed the Birds. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:48.639 Now, why this song? 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:52.079 I don't think it's really about the birds. 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:54.560 It's about noticing. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:56.720 It's about compassion. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:06.879 It's about recognizing that every small act of kindness can become part of something much larger than ourselves. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:18.879 And the more that I sat with the story this week, the more that I realized that Scripture has been singing that same song all along. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:33.839 Now, I should probably warn you that today really is one of those rare Sundays when I am preaching a proper three-point sermon. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.800 You know, the kind that they teach you in every public speaking class. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:46.399 Now, that's not usually how my brain works, but this week it's simply how the sermon wanted to be preached. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:56.639 So today we're going to spend a few minutes with three words collaboration, community, and covenant. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.399 So let's begin with collaboration. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:05.519 Earlier we heard those beautiful words from Ecclesiastes. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:11.680 And Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating books in all of Scripture. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.560 Traditionally, it was attributed to King Solomon because of its wisdom. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:25.839 Today many scholars believe it was written much later by an anonymous wisdom teacher known by the Hebrew title Koheleth. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:30.480 Or for the sake of us this morning, let's just call him Q. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:39.120 Whoever Q was, he was wrestling with the kinds of questions every generation eventually asks. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.720 What gives life meaning? 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.439 What actually lasts? 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.800 And what is worth giving your life to? 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:54.959 And right in the middle of those questions, Q writes, two are better than one. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:02.160 I've always found it interesting that Q never begins by saying one is bad. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.000 There are times when solitude is holy. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:08.639 Jesus sought solitude. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.720 Moses, Elijah sought solitude. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.279 And those moments matter. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:22.240 Solitude has its place, but isolation does not. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:26.879 Hugh then begins painting these beautiful little pictures. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:31.680 Someone falls and another reaches down to lift them. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.439 The night grows cold, and someone is there to keep them warm. 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:42.720 Danger comes, and someone stands beside them. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:46.079 Do you notice something? 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.600 Q never asks why they fell. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.959 He simply assumes something about life. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:55.920 Sometimes people fall. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:02.560 The question isn't whether you fall, the question is who already knows your name when you do? 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.160 Because that is how God has always imagined God's people. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.240 The assumption isn't that life will always go well. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:16.959 The assumption is that we were never meant to face it alone. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:27.120 I wonder if somewhere along the way we've unintentionally begun treating faith as an individual project. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:34.000 My faith, my relationship with God, my prayers, my spirituality. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.759 Now, don't misunderstand me because those things absolutely matter. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:46.960 But Scripture keeps reminding us that God's dream has always been bigger than me. 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.480 It has always been us. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.399 The kingdom of God has never been built by lone rangers. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:00.639 Just look at Scripture. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:10.000 Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Miriam, Ruth, Naomi, Jesus, the disciples, Paul. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.000 God has always gathered a people. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.960 It has always been built by communities. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.720 And I think that's especially true for the church today. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:35.440 The challenge facing the church in the 21st century are simply too big for one pastor, too big for one community, too big for one ministry, too big for one congregation. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.919 God never intended us to carry this work alone. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:47.679 Collaboration isn't just a good strategy, it's part of God's design. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:52.159 But collaboration naturally raises another question. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:58.639 If we're called to work together, what exactly are we working toward? 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.360 Now for that we have to listen to Isaiah. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.960 Isaiah now takes us somewhere very different. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.559 Ecclesiastes gave us wisdom. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:15.840 Now Isaiah gives us a mirror. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:22.720 The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Israel after they've returned home from exile in Babylon. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.879 They've rebuilt Jerusalem, they've rebuilt the temple. 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:29.679 Worship has begun again. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.240 The festivals have returned. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.799 And from the outside, everything looks healthy. 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:41.519 But God sees something the people don't. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:47.120 They rebuilt the temple, but they hadn't yet rebuilt the community. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:55.200 And so God asks the difficult question: is this really the kind of worship that I desire? 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:03.120 Not because God was disappointed that they were praying, not because God was disappointed that they were gathering. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.320 God wasn't dismissing this worship. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.360 But God was asking whether worship was changing them. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:18.559 Because the worship God longs for doesn't stop with songs and prayers. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:25.279 It loosens the bonds of injustice, it feeds the hungry, it welcomes the unhoused. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:29.759 It clothes the naked and it repairs what's been broken. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:35.440 In other words, God was asking them to let worship travel. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:45.600 Travel out beyond the temple, into the streets, into the neighborhoods, into the places where people were hurting. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:55.840 And one of the things I've loved discovering during my first month here at Lakeview is that I think this congregation already understands something about letting worship travel. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:59.840 I've seen it in our relationships with our mission partners. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:08.320 I've seen it in our presence at Pride, and I've seen it in the preschool that fills this building with laughter and learning throughout the week. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:19.679 I've seen it in the many community groups that gather here, not because they belong to us, but because we believe this space belongs to the community. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.240 Now those aren't just ministries, they're theology. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.840 They're reminding that this church has never believed these walls were the destination. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:33.759 They're the doorway. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:39.120 A doorway through which God's love continues to move into the world. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.960 Because churches don't exist so that the community has somewhere to go. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:51.440 Churches exist so God's people have somewhere to be sent from. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:58.159 Every Sunday, near the end of worship, I stand here and offer a benediction. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:02.799 Many people hear that benediction as the closing words of worship. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:08.720 And I've started wondering if it's actually the opening words of ministry. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:16.559 The benediction isn't God's way of dismissing us, it's God's way of sending us. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.960 Sending us to let worship travel. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:28.639 But Isaiah reminds us of something else that Lateview doesn't do that work alone. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:33.919 Neither does any church, which brings us to covenant. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:38.639 Isaiah reminds us of something else. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:46.799 None of us does this work alone, not as individuals, not as a congregation, and certainly not as the church. 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:57.679 One of the things I've come to love about the United Church of Christ is that we hold two ideas together that don't always seem like they belong together. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:02.399 Autonomy and covenant. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:10.799 We cherish the autonomy of our local churches, and no conference tells Lateview what to preach. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:14.720 No association tells us who we have to be. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:19.679 No national office dictates our ministry together. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.320 And that's a beautiful gift. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:31.759 It means we are free to listen for the movement of the spirits in our community, right here, this place with these people. 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:42.879 But sometimes I wonder if we've become so good at talking about our autonomy that we've forgotten to talk about covenant. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.639 Because autonomy was never meant to become isolation. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.000 Just like earlier, solitude has its place, isolation does. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:00.879 Autonomy has its place, but isolation does not. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:10.720 The beauty of the UCC isn't simply that we're independent, it's that we have freely chosen to belong to one another. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:17.600 We're part of Sankha, we're part of the Heartland Conference, and we're part of the United Church of Christ. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:22.879 We're connected to churches and ministries across the country and across the world. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:29.039 Those aren't simply organizational structures, they're relationships. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.679 When another church celebrates, we celebrate. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.200 When another church struggles, we care. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:44.320 When disaster strikes, we respond, and when injustice rises, we speak. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.080 Because covenant isn't about control. 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:53.919 Covenant is about choosing to walk together. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:08.480 I think that's one of the greatest gifts the church has to offer our world in a culture that celebrates radical independence, the church quietly practices holy interdependence. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.960 There's an image from scripture that I've been carrying with me lately. 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:16.000 It's known as a covenant of salts. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:24.559 Now, because we're uh we're going to be coming back to this later, but I'll give you this much. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:33.919 Salt becomes a symbol of relationship that endured, a promise that wasn't easily broken, a covenant that lasted. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.720 So we'll come back to that later. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:43.360 But before we do, I think creation itself has been trying to teach us this all along. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.000 Which brings me back to the roots. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:54.480 I think creation has been trying to teach us this all along. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.639 Where a few weeks ago we talked about roots. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:05.359 We talked about letting our roots grow deeper, and that's true because roots matter. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.200 But there's another tree that has become one of my favorites. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:19.200 The giant sequoias of California are among the tallest and oldest living things on earth. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:24.480 Some stand nearly 300 feet tall. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:29.440 Some have been alive for over two thousand years. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:38.319 Now you would expect trees like that have roots that reach hundreds of feet into the earth. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.720 They don't. 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:46.240 Most giant sequoia roots only reach six to twelve feet deep. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:52.559 Now think about only six to twelve feet deep when the trees can be upwards of three hundred feet tall. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.160 And those roots intertwine with every other sequoia around them. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.799 No single tree holds itself up. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.079 They hold up one another. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.960 Now maybe that's not just good forestry. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:19.119 Maybe that's good theology. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:26.720 Maybe Q understood it, and two are better than one. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:34.559 Maybe Isaiah understood it, repair together, feed together, restore together. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.839 Maybe the church is still learning it. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.720 Church is choosing to belong to one another. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:50.480 And maybe all along creation has been quietly proclaiming what Scripture has been singing. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.440 That we were created for connectedness. 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.200 That we were created for one another. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:07.039 And maybe that's why Walt kept asking to play it. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:15.759 Not because he'd forgotten the song, but because he never wanted to forget what it was trying to teach him. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:21.599 I wonder if that's what God does with us every Sunday. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:31.839 Not because we don't know the words, but because we need to hear them deeply enough that they begin to shape the way that we live. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:40.160 Week after week, scripture, prayer, song, the table. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:46.640 And perhaps God simply whispers, play it. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:49.359 Play grace. 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:51.680 Play justice. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:53.839 Play mercy. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:56.799 Play reconciliation. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:58.880 Play the gospel. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.400 Because the world doesn't just need a church that knows the song. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:10.799 The world needs a church willing to play it. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:13.279 Amen.